What is the title of your latest release?
My new book is THE SISTER’S CURSE.
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When mysterious drownings plague her small town, a detective haunted by her serial killer father must uncover whether revenge, ancient legends, or something darker lurks beneath the surface.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wrote a previous book, THE HUNTER’S DAUGHTER, about Anna Koray, a decorated police lieutenant who is the daughter of a notorious serial killer. She lives in rural Bayern County, where her father committed his murders, a place of strange crimes and stranger superstitions. Some of the suspects in the latest spate of murders suggest that it’s a place where spirit roads cross, where people are trapped by their pasts and cannot escape.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
I would! I think that Anna is an interesting character in that so much of her life is an internal struggle between who she wants to be and who she fears she is. She’s afraid that she’s inherited her father’s taste for killing, and tries to rise above it. But she forgets that she’s also her mother’s daughter – a woman who is potentially just as dangerous as her father.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Intuitive, perceptive, insular.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Part of the mythology of this book is steeped in stories of Rusalki – the vengeful spirits of drowned women. I used the stories as a focus for the characters’ rage in this book. But in my research, I learned that there were some places in Europe that held a “Rusalka Week” in the spring, in which Rusalki were treated more as fertility spirits of place that were placated to ensure a bountiful harvest. It’s interesting how the myth devolved into women lying in wait in rivers wanting to snatch up men and children.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Sometimes both? If I get an idea that I want to revisit, I’ll go back. It’s something of a recursive process. But there’s always editing to be done at the end.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Because it’s nearing Halloween, I can’t resist the temptation of the candy aisle. I want allllllll the chocolate. I know any candy I buy before trick or treat will be consumed before the day, and I have to run out the night before to get more for the trick or treaters. I have no discipline!
Describe your writing space/office!
This summer, I’ve been writing outdoors. I have a garden I’ve been working on for many years, and I love being outside to listen to the bees hum and the catbirds call. On my patio, I’m occasionally visited by tiny DeKay’s snakes who emerge to sun themselves. My big triumph this year were the sunchokes – I’d never grown them before, but they grew taller than I did. I can’t wait to try them after we get some frost.
Who is an author you admire?
I really admire Karen Dionne. Her book, THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER, is such a lovely story about how complicated and dangerous family relationships can be. I loved how the setting became a character as well, tangled in the roots of the heroine’s psyche.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Many people have read WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. I loved that book because it gave voice to a lot of the rumblings, I’d been feeling about female archetypes and how they fit into art. There’s a lot of pressure to create characters who are “likeable” or “pretty” or “tamed” in certain ways, and I think that book gave me permission to write about women who are decidedly rebellious.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was floored when my wonderful agent, Caitlin Blasdell, called. I wasn’t sure if anyone would want to read my work, and was so excited that my editor Jen Monroe saw the vision and offered to buy the book. It’s really been a dream come true.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I like lots of genres. I like mysteries and thrillers, because I love trying to figure out “who done it.” But I also like historical fantasy, like Madeline Miller’s CIRCE. I love seeing a familiar myth come to life and being surprised in the retelling.
What’s your favorite movie?
I confess that the John Wick movies are my favorite guilty pleasure. Keanu Reeves has always been a favorite, and I will never get tired of seeing him kill bad guys with a pencil.
What is your favorite season?
Summer. I really relish the long days to work in my garden.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
This year, we went to the Renaissance Festival. I got my cards read, ate soup from a bread bowl, and got to watch the jousting. It’s always a good time.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve been listening to THE REST IS HISTORY with my husband. He’s a major history nerd, and I like learning new fun and interesting facts about periods of history that I know nothing about. I also listen to Mike Duncan’s REVOLUTIONS when my husband has control of the radio. The Martian Revolution, in particular, is very interesting.
I also finished the latest season of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. I only wish the seasons were longer!
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I like most types, but I really love good Italian food.
What do you do when you have free time?
I’m a gardener. I’m in the process of building a rock garden, and it’s been a lot of work. But I think I’ll be very happy with it when it’s finished.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m mulling a couple of new projects. Both have to do with murder, predictably!
There’s something in the water in Bayern County…
When mysterious drownings plague her small town, a detective haunted by her serial killer father must uncover whether revenge, ancient legends, or something darker lurks beneath the surface.
Lieutenant Anna Koray thought she'd finally found solid ground and escaped her past as the daughter of a notorious serial killer. A loving boyfriend, a loyal dog, a life that almost feels normal—except darkness has a way of seeping in. When she saves a boy from drowning, the strange marks on his body tell a disturbing story: something in the depths tried to drag him under.
Days later, another victim surfaces with identical marks and Anna's instincts scream that these are no accidents. Both victims are connected to the Kings of Warsaw Creek—men of the town's wealthiest and most influential families. And they have enemies.
Others whisper that there are witches in Bayern County, seeking revenge for a long-ago murder. Perhaps it's the work of Vivian Carson, the enigmatic bartender who’s rumored to cast hexes on those who wrong her. Or maybe it’s a secret coven who’s been leaving serpentine symbols and skulls behind at the scenes of the drownings.
But Anna's investigation reveals an even more sinister truth: something is stirring in the water, and it wants the Kings to pay.
With time running out and more victims appearing, Anna must separate superstition from truth. But in Bayern County, where legends and curses run deep as the water itself, one wrong step could drag her into the depths—this time for good.
Audiobook Narrator- Samantha Desz
Thriller Police Procedural | Thriller Crime [Penguin, On Sale: October 21, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593639757 / eISBN: 9780593639771]
Nicola Solvinic has a master's degree in criminology and has worked in and around criminal justice for more than a decade at local, state, and federal levels. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and cats, where she is surrounded by a secret garden full of beehives.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2026